


Cursed Destinies

by AnnaCipactli12



Category: Star Wars - All Media Types, The Tudors (TV)
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-08-07
Updated: 2020-08-25
Packaged: 2021-03-06 07:28:37
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 2
Words: 6,346
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25759600
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/AnnaCipactli12/pseuds/AnnaCipactli12
Summary: HUGE AU.  Multiple crossovers. It takes more than one bad day to push a person down the edge to the point of no return. Anakin Skywalker and Mary Tudor are clear examples of that. Or are they true children of the light -as their mothers always thought them to be? Could it be that all the nasty things people said about them be true?
Relationships: Anne Boleyn/Henry VIII of England, Catherine of Aragon/Henry VIII of England, Catherine of Aragon/Obi Wan Kenobi, Mary I of England/Anakin Skywalker, Padmé Amidala & Anakin Skywalker
Kudos: 8





	1. Chapter 1

_There was beauty to be found in death. When I gazed on the dead face of my mother, I saw the future staring right at me. If I was not going to survive this life, then I was going to end their dreams and turn them into nightmares. By ‘they’ I mean my family. The Tudors. They took everything from me. Simply because my lineage is far more prestigious than their whole lot combined._

_Anakin Skywalker knew this when he came to my father’s court. Yet he never spoke against him. He was better than that. Obi Wan Kenobi on the other hand, voiced his reservations. Earth was a pathetic, backwater planet with no real benefit to the Republic or to the CIS (should they decide to join the old republic’s dire enemy)._

_There was something sinister afoot. Anakin could feel it. So could I. Don’t ask me how. Ever since I can remember I always tried to settle in, please everyone while also showing that I am more than my father’s spoiled rotten princess. Unfortunately, fate got tired of granting me good fortune._

_After the Yorks fell, Darth Plagueis, the decrepit Sith corpse wiped the slate clean. If he was going to defeat the Jedi, he needed help from one of the forgotten old Sith spirits. Of course I am talking about Melusina. Me._

_You might be confused as to what the hell I am talking about. Did I lose my mind? In a manner of speaking I have. But worry not, it’s only temporary._

_After Elizabeth Woodville died, her daughter, Elizabeth of York, Henry VII’s queen, worked through every spell book and occult diary she had inherited from her mother to eliminate the curse the two of them had cast on the person responsible for the princes’ death. Since one was already a goner, that only left her younger brother, Richard, Duke of York who escaped England under the guise of Perkin Warbeck._

_“The boy” as he was known made a compelling case. Her husband was this close to letting him go and abandoning his throne. But of course, his mother and wife could not let him do that. Much as Lizzie of York hated the Beaufort harridan, their love for power overrode their hatred.  
Working her magic in the bedroom while Margaret worked hers through her eloquence with her son’s councilors, Henry VII tricked “Perkin Warbeck” and Lizzie’s cousin, the simpleton earl of Warwick, into conspiring against the King and his family. Needless to say, their plot was uncovered and the conspirators hung like common thieves._

_Lizzie cried for days but then she thanked God. Abandoning me for the Christian God, she could now rest easy. Although Margaret Beaufort had orchestrated the murder of one of the princes of the tower, the Catholic Kings’ pressure to do away with Lizzie’s youngest brother, had turned them into the guilty party –which meant that it would be Isabella of Castile and Ferdinand of Aragon whose son would be taken away, plunging their dominions into a devastating civil war from which England could take advantage of._

_Unsurprisingly this made Lizzie indifferent to Catherine. She saw the Spanish Princess as a casualty of war. But then something happened. Catherine’s empty womb was no longer empty. After Arthur’s sudden death and the pronouncement that the marriage had (indeed, despite what her parents were alleging) been consummated, Catherine’s pregnancy was announced._

_Lizzie realized that if the curse worked its magic than the child would grow sickly. Moreover, Margaret Beaufort found out about it. She was furious but decidedly helpless to what the future held. Both women prayed that the child would die._

_God, or rather the Force listened._

_The child was a healthy boy who soon became ill. It was all too strange. But this was Earth, the planet that Obi Wan Kenobi and other Jedi looked down upon for acting so high and mighty in spite of their obvious arrogance. What was more, the earthlings knew they were arrogant but they didn’t care. “Faith is all that matters,” was their chosen motto after they joined the old republic._

_Prince Harry, the new prince of Wales, felt guilty for his nephew’s death. Despite his parents’ attempts to cheer him, Harry insisted that it was his fault. Prior to his death, he had thrown a big party where he had taken his beloved sister-in-law to a picnic. As a big surprise, he had shown up with her nephew in his arms. The people there remarked that it seemed as if Prince Arthur never died for Harry had taken up his role. What had started as a simple crush had blossomed into something more._

_Neither royal could deny their feelings for one another. And yet … Catherine was led astray by her own passions and ambitions. The latter drove a wedge between her and her Sir-Loyal-Heart and her Jedi Knight._

_That is right. Like mother, like daughter. My mother, the humble and loyal Catherine had horned her King, and danced a merry tune with the great negotiator. Before my father, my real father, found out the truth, she enjoyed a passionate midsummer night in the royal love chamber where enraptured by her exotic garments, expensive perfumes and sweet smile, they conceived England’s future._

_Or so they thought._

_Less than nine months later, I was born, along with my half-brother. Two children, conceived of different fathers were born on February 18 th 1510\. When the King found out the truth, he presented this as proof that his union with my mother was an abomination. Dark forces were at work. Yet, since my half-brother was his pride and joy, he could not risk annulling his marriage without denying him his birthright. So an agreement was reached. In a secret ecclesiastical court, my father’s request for a divorce was granted. But the children from this union would remain legitimate and in the line of succession._

_There was no way on god’s green earth that he’d let Obi Wan Kenobi’s bastard wear the Confessor’s crown. As soon as he was free, he married his new paramour, Anne Boleyn._

_God, how I hated her but she was the only one who, if I had listened to, could have prevented the galaxy’s downfall. She, like my mother, saw how hard I had fallen for Anakin. As her marriage to my father was in shambles, she took a special interest in me._

_“I know you are not stupid. You know who your true father is but you present yourself as if you are the highest of the high of His Majesty’s children and then there is that boy.” I held my breath. Anne saw my discomfort. She smiled like a cat about to eat her prey. “He is married, you know.”_

_“No, he is not. The CIS have spread rumors-“_

_“Oh shut up, Princess. The only reason why your **father** allows you to keep that title and recognizes you as his daughter despite the obvious fact that you are clearly not, is because he’d rather stick it to the Great Negotiator than see you one step higher than his offspring.”_

_“Then Madame should be thankful because if he is married, then that destroys my reputation and you can use that to propel them.”_

_“Sarcasm doesn’t suit you. Stick to be blunt dear. Henry loved you. He paraded you before all his councilors, including your father’s order of galactic monks. Despite everything, he still loves you and it is for that reason that I have asked him to send you to Naboo to marry Governor Elio Bible, son of Padme Amidala Naberrie’s former governor when she was queen.”_

_“No.”_

_“It is not a request. You are going and that is final.”_

_She did try to get me to sign the marriage contract but I resisted until my mother was brought. If it had just been Anne and the King, I would have remained steadfast. But seeing my mother and half-brother side with them broke me.  
Poor Elio. Now that I think back to our wedding, I feel a lot of pity for him. He was a kind person but he was not Anakin and when Anakin found out, his anger became known to Padme –and by extension her family. I could not look at the Naberries in the eye without them being reminded of the woman who was ruining their daughter’s marriage._

_The Jedi’s final victory against the CIS with the rescue of Chancellor Palpatine, and summary executions of the CIS leaders and capture of Darth Maul, leader of the newly founded criminal organization “Crimson Dawn” led them to revise the Jedi Code. This was met with huge opposition from several staunch orthodox and conservative members of the order. Among them was Master Windu. He saw through me and considered my existence a threat to his dear friend Obi Wan Kenobi. He was the epitome of diligence, duty and galactic nobility._

_A galactic monk whose exploits and master rhetoric had inspired loyalty and courage in his fellow soldiers, including hundreds of clone troopers. The latter had come to see him as a friend more than aleader._

_It angered me that I was sent so far away. Still, they couldn’t keep Anakin away from me._

_Anakin had seen Padme as an angel. How could he not? He was a nine-year-old child who had his first encounter with the first outsider who gave two damns about him. And after being away from her for so far and being the subject of suspicion, bullying and critique in the Jedi temple, being next to her was like Eve being tempted by the snake to eat the forbidden apple in the garden of Eden.  
What was more, Padme was also struck by Cupid’s arrow. One year into their marriage however, he slowly came to the realization that his love for Padme was not true as he had thought it was. Yet unlike Henry VIII, he didn’t have the heart to break his wife’s heart. Padme did love him and her family had grown close to him. Whatever reservations he had about the future, he had made his bed and he had to lie in it._

_But oh, that burning candor we had for one another was hard to shake away. When I married Elio Bible I made a promise. I would not lie with him until I was certain that everything was over (between Anakin and me)._

_So I sent him an invitation through his droid. Elio was easy to charm. He knew he was far from my first choice. He could have had his pick of any woman in Naboo. He had good looks; any woman in my shoes would have made this bad situation into a good one. He was after all caring and devoted, and one of the few politicians devoted to the ideals of the republic. But I simply could not bring myself to love him.  
The heart chooses who it chooses, and my heart had chosen Anakin.  
It took all of Padme’s self-control not to tell me what she really thought about me. The expression on my face challenged her to do a scene in public, but she remained stoic. After we exchanged pleasantries, her friend and my father-in-law, Sio Bible came. I took advantage of this small distraction to slip a disc to R2. R2 was her property but he was loyal first and foremost to Anakin.  
Two weeks later Anakin came. His former apprentice still refused to return to the Jedi Order, but kept good relations with Anakin, the Senator and Obi Wan Kenobi. She was awarded many medals for her service during the clone wars. And although Anakin would never stop telling her to reconsider, he had managed to convince several members in the council to appoint her to the position of Head Trainer in the temple. She was the only civilian to ever been awarded this honor by the Jedi.  
As I listened to Anakin, I could not help but smile. After he finished, he told me that he thought the birth of his twins would make him forget him but he still thought of me.  
“I know.” I answered. “Do you think if things were different, if you and I met that we could have …” I let the words hang, waiting for him to answer. It didn’t take long.  
“I have no doubt but we are who we are. I have asked Obi Wan what he will do.”  
“About who? Me? He would rather admit that he was sleeping with the Duchess of Mandalore than had a child out of wedlock with the Spanish Infanta.”  
“It has not been easy for him. He has asked the council to give all that he has to you which is not much but it is something. I know you trained yourself to use the sword and other sports relegated to male earthlings.”_

_That is true. Even in this mortal body, the galaxy could not stop the infamous Melusina from getting her way._

_“Has he told them that I am the reincarnated spirit of a dark celestial?”_

_Anakin shook his head. “It is the one thing I told him not to for your sake and he agreed.” He rose from his chair and sat next to me on the bed. He grabbed my hand, giving it a gentle squeeze. Even though it was his gloved mechanical hand, I could still feel a calming warmth. “What you did in your past life, it is of no consequence now.”_

_“The Jedi won’t see it that way and probably your former master won’t either.” I sighed. “I don’t care if he shouted to the top of his lungs that I am his daughter. I don’t care anymore. What angers me is that he thinks that will be enough to erase years of mockery and abuse at the hands of the Tudors.”_

_Everyone, including Bessie, refused to talk to me. My half-brother Harold told me that I was nothing more than afterbirth. It hurt. Even now, after all these years, it still hurts._

_Anakin let go of my hand. Getting closer he kissed me. One more kiss, he told me, and he would know if this was true love or mere infatuation. I wish I had not given in because that one kiss sealed the fate of the entire galaxy._

_Darth Plagueis and other Sith wanted to punish me for falling in love with an earthling and allowing my female descendants to call on me to do evil on their rivals, while the Jedi wanted me to pay for all the terror I had wrought on their order during the time of Darth Bane._

_If I had been strong enough to resist, Anakin would have never fallen. Padme would have never died. Luke and Leia would have never been split up, the empire would have never rose to power. More importantly, I would not have had to suffer watching history repeat itself as I was forced to give up my children._

_But dark forces were at work. And they banked on our love. Chancellor Sheev Palpatine is not to blame for our fall. He pulled the trigger. That much is true. But the gun was already loaded._

_With nothing but guilt and despair, I let myself fall deeper. There was no turning back so I used my position in the new galactic empire to bring terrible vengeance on the House of Tudor and every other House who pushed me through the mud._

_They will speak of me in years to come. Nothing good, of that I am certain. But they will speak nonetheless._

_I am after all pain and misery incarnate. When I was a Celestial, I was told that accepting your lot brings peace. When I became a Sith spirit, I told myself that rebelling against fate is the only way any being could ever truly be free. Now I know better. There is strength in weakness. My weakness is my fate and rather than wallow in self-pity, I use it to bring misery to others. If it is fated that I shall be the unhappiest lady in the galaxy, then it will be so for everyone who crosses me._

  * **_Imperial Profiles: A Fictionalized Account of Lady Mary Trastamara_ as taken from Holographic and written records **



* * *

In a remote area of where the palace of Greenwich once stood, a group of scavengers hunted for potential treasure. It was known that old Earth hid many treasures. You just had to know where to look.

Gaia told her group not to go too far. It was dangerous at this time of day. Her mother was an exiled historian and mathematician who had led a fringe group against the empire. The rebel alliance was reluctant to admit it but without them, their greatest victories would not have been possible. Gaia warned her mother not get too cocky. If their suspicions were correct, then any day now, the data that rebel intelligence would bring the alliance HQ would confirm their worst fears.

“I found something.” Her mother smiled. Gaia showed the miniature to her. “Is this who I think it is?”

“A long time, very long time ago. She has not aged a day, has she?” She sighed. Harriet rubbed her thumb against the miniature’s surface, pushing the last bit of dirt away. “For want of a nail, I think I am doomed to be the unhappiest lady in Christendom. She told me this the day before she was sent to marry Elio Bible.”

“Do you think she is truly a witch?”

Her mother laughed. She shook her head. “Mary was many things. Resilient, determined, strong. A witch? Hardly. Unless those are qualifiers for calling a woman with the heart of a king a witch.”

“You miss her, don’t you?” Gaia asked.

“In another life, the two of us would be gossiping with me promising her to stand beside her in whatever she planned. Mary was not a witch. Your mother was a good woman who knew of the darkness inside her and did everything in her power to suppress but alas! The galaxy would not let her be.”

“That is an easy excuse for a mass murderer.”

Her adoptive mother smiled sadly at her best friend’s daughter. “You will find that things are more complicated. The struggle between good and evil is as much a myth as people’s vision of a bygone era where peace and justice reigned.”

“I don’t agree. If there is anything the empire has taught me is that there is good and there is evil and I will not rest until the empire is destroyed.”

Gaia was Mary and Anakin Skywalker’s daughter through and through. Margaret Douglas had no doubt about that. There was that passion and challenging tone that she only heard in Mary. Whenever someone said something was impossible, Mary would prove them wrong.

“Let us get out of here. We got what we came for.” Margaret said.

The team left old earth and returned to Alderaan where Gaia’s best friend and half-sister was waiting for her, eager to hear what Gaia and her mother’s team had discovered.

**~o~**

One hundred and forty five dead, a quarter million homeless. The attack at new earth had left its government weak, begging for aid. The imperial senate granted it –with the condition that it would surrender all claims of ecclesiastical supremacy. Any man, woman or child who believed in old superstition was considered dangerous. The Emperor knew firsthand the power of belief. Fanatics couldn’t be bargained or reasoned with and as such, they had to be stopped before they lit the spark that could bring down his empire.

Vader did not enjoy cruelty. He did not blink an eye when he put down rebels. They were necessary casualties of war. If their deaths could be avoided, he would call of attacks and not execute them. All the resources wasted on the rebels could be diverted to worthwhile programs that would benefit not just the higher echelons of imperial power, but all imperial citizens.

But his master was too blind to see that. He had become more paranoid in the last decade. So every time a rebel defied his authority or he got a whiff of treason from the imperial senate, he dispatched his hound dog, Vader to put the rebels down.

Today was no different. No quarter was given to the men. The option of surrender was a mere formality –and an excuse for justified murder. Then came the women. They were sent away. Some were forgiven, others were not. The children were sent to their remaining relatives or other earthlings who were scattered across the galaxy.

**~o~**

Near the Unknown regions, in the outer rim, where the twin suns shone over Tatooine, a woman and a man watched over their young charges. The Tusken raiders had been ruthless with their first guardians. 

Beru Whitesun and Owen Lars did not stand a chance against them when they raided their home. The memory of what Anakin Skywalker had done had not been far from their minds. When Obi Wan had been caught off guard by Darth Maul, Luke and Isabella Skywalker had been left defenseless. 

Catherine did her best to save their aunt and uncle, but after Obi Wan came in time to ward off the Tuskens, it was too late. Beru and Owen died from their wounds less than an hour later. 

Catherine was a woman of many secrets but this was one she could not keep. She told Obi Wan that she wasn't wholly responsible for Luke and Isabella's safety. While she managed to kill some of the Tuskens, she was not the young warrior she used to be. In her heyday, she put on armor and rode to battle with the English army against the Scots, led by their king, James IV. Henry VIII was away fighting in France, seeking to live up to his hero, Henry V. As a result, Catherine was left to reign England in his stead as his Regent.  
The years had not been kind to her. Though part of her beauty remained, her physical strength was not what it once was. She grew tired after she killed the fourth Tusken. She was certain that her time had come when Luke and Isabella had intervened.

Like the twin suns of Tatooine, their Force signature shone brightly, making itself known to every Force user on Tatooine, including Darth Maul (before he met his end). Luke's scream and Isabella's anger sent many of the Tuskens flying. One of them landed on the spear he had thrust on the hard sand. His death was instantenous.

This distraction was enough for Catherine and the children to run. Obi Wan arrived on time to ward off the remaining Tusken raiders. By the time Catherine was done with her tale, Obi Wan was more pensive than ever.

He knew that the offspring of Anakin Skywalker would be powerful but this was still unprecedented. Left unchecked, Force sensitives could be a threat to themselves and those around them. Still, nothing compared to what these two had done.

"If anything worse comes to pass, you three must leave. I promise that I will catch up with you." Catherine quickly protested."They are the only hope that the galaxy has. If they are captured by Vader or worse, brought straight to the emperor, darkness will reign supreme."

"You always had a penchant for melodrama. Fine, we leave but don't think I won't hold this against you when we reunite and you better come back to us because I do not know what I will do."

"Sure you will. You are the daughter of the two greatest monarchs that earth has ever seen, remember?" Catherine smiled at that. The two shared a kiss before they retreated to their quarters. "I would not trust anyone else with this but you."

"And what about their siblings? How longer are we going to keep this secret. They deserve to know, and for our granddaughters' sake, they ought to know where they come from."

Obi Wan looked straight into her eyes. He could not lie to her. He had not been called the great negotiator for nothing. He could twist the truth, build hyperbole, trick others into surrendering but Catherine Trastamara was different. Whether it was on the political stage or the battlefield, she never failed to awe her opponents with her determination. Her fortitude nearly rivaled Master Windu and Master Yoda, the only two Jedi Masters he knew whose wills could not be broken.

Before Satine died, she posed him a hypothetical. If it was true that he would have left the order if she had asked him; would he have stayed or spent the rest of his years with Catherine? Obi Wan never provided her with a satisfactory answer. He regretted not telling her that he would have chosen her -even if it were not for the reasons she would have wanted to hear.  
At the time, Catherine was still deeply seeded to her local ambitions for their daughter. Harold's rejection had hurt her, but she took comfort in the knowledge that she still had Mary's love. Until Anakin came. For once, she and Anne Boleyn had agreed on something. Getting Mary far away from him was the best for everyone.  
Mary however never forgave her. Had Satine asked him at the time to leave, he would have and he would have chosen the Duchess of Mandalore. Not out of love, but because he cared for her and he would not face the same level of heartache he would have faced if he stayed with Catherine.

Life had turned his plans upside down. Only this time, it would not be him suffering from a major heartache. He wanted nothing more than to spare Catherine from the mental anguish she would face, should he die. But it was impossible. The two of them had their duties to live and die for. 

"If we tell them now, it will be too much for them to take. Especially when it hasn't been a month since the Tusken attack." Seeing her apprehension, he added, "When they are older, we can tell them everything but for now, it is more important we keep them safe and train them for what is up ahead."

Catherine did not wish that kind of destiny on anyone. She had been a slave of duty her entire life. For once, she would like to see a member of her family not enslaved by destiny or duty. Luke and Isabella had grown thinking they were twin brother and sister. None of them had any idea they had different mothers or that they hated each other, with a father who was now the most feared man in the galaxy after the emperor.

"It never stops. The plotting, the fight for survival. One crusade after another. We are all puppets dancing on invisible strings. How foolish of me to think that I could convince God with my prayers to rid our granddaughter of this horrible burden. Why would He listen to a sinner?"

"It is not just their burden to bear." Obi Wan said silently. Before they turned off the lights, Obi Wan promised her he would keep the three of them safe. He had failed Satine, Anakin and his fellow Jedi. Everything he held dear had been taken from him. Except Catherine. She and the Skywalker children were the only thing that kept him going.  
He'd had a vision the night before he confronted Maul. It was a vision of his own death. That is why he was confident when he faced his old nemesis. In the past, he'd do anything to prevent it from happening. Now, he was at peace with it. If his fate was to die at the hands of his old friend so he could save his offspring, then so be it.

What was duty and love without the ultimate sacrifice?


	2. The Obscure Officer

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for the kudos. If you want to see this story continued, send more kudos and positive feedback.  
> I have always found the character of Piett interesting. Although I am not a fan of the new canon, I did enjoy some of the paperbacks, primarily Lost Stars and others set during the imperial era where Piett appears briefly. From these short appearances, alongside Legends and the oringal trilogy, a better picture of Piett begins to emerge. To fill in the gaps, I took liberties with some of his background and his family to connect him with the protagonists of the story, and make him more relevant. So ... without further ado, here it is. Enjoy!

_There is beauty to be had in broken things –I said to myself. Every little ounce of dignity that remained, the last proof that here once inhabited a good soul, was sacrificed in my children’s name. You can call me stupid but I see it as a noble act._

_Even monsters are entitled to feel proud about their children. And what were my children if not an extension of me? You can argue that their light is owed to their fathers. Whatever faults they had, their fathers’ initial goodness always washed away their sins._

_That’s bantha poodoo._

_Sin never dies._

**~o~**

Firmus Piett was the object of mocking and scorn in the imperial academy. The scorn always came first, followed by the mocking.

 _Why do people hate me?_ He had told himself that if he worked hard enough he’d make everyone see that he was someone worth giving a damn about.

How wrong he was. His judgment was as poor as his inheritance. A pair of disgraced royals who entrusted his care to a pair of hicks who sold him for spare parts.  
As a kid, he was used to scolding. Everything he did was always wrong. But no matter how far their taunts went, he could always count on his true parents. Out there somewhere, waiting for things to calm down in their country, so when the time was right, they’d come back to claim him.

** Disappointment. **

That is what he experienced when he was told of their deaths.

** Anger. **

When he was told they did not give two hoots about him. They just fled to the outer rim to get him so they could use him for their new cover story and hide from the imperial pursuers.

** Fury. **

Multiplied by ten when the only surviving member of his dastardly family arrived on Axxila. A half-sister called Catherine, just like the most sought-out exiled royal in the galaxy along with her Jedi lover, Obi Wan Kenobi. Yet, besides her name, she shared in nothing in common with the disgraced Spanish Princess.

Everything about her was infuriating. Whenever he wasn’t surviving off scraps and bringing money home, there she was criticizing him.

“You know what your problem is, brother?”

“No but I have a feeling you are going to tell me.” Firmus said, trying to live up to his name by making his tone firm but Catherine’s snarky tone and teasing smile disarmed him.

“In all this time, you have never once called me your sister. When are you going to stand up to your parents? Do you even consider them your parents? Our father was a man who got things done and our uncle didn’t bat an eye when he demanded things from people.”

“It’s easy to get things done when you have everything handed to you.” Firmus snapped.

Catherine clapped. “At last that proud Medici spirit surfaces. I wonder how long is it last?”

** Coldness: **

Shortly after his little chat with Catherine, he received a letter of admission from his recruitment officer at Koto Station near the Nubia port. The latter was one he loved to visit as a child. Catherine ruined the experience for him. (Adding to one of many things she had ruined for him.) Every time she kindly asked to be taken there, his parents made him accompany her. And every time it felt like a chore.

But nothing, not even her, could ruin his ticket out of this backwater planet.

 _Now they will see me for who I really am._ He was going to show them.

 _Once again Piett, you were too gullible._ Thinking back to that time, it was easy to see where he failed but unlike the poor bastards of where he grew up, he was not going to spend his remaining years feeling sorry or dreaming of what might-have-been.

His initial regrets were drowned by his quick escalation in promotions that followed his graduation. But as usual, the epitome of derision was there to squash his pride. Only this time, he wasn’t putting up with it. Something she immediately caught on so she changed her strategy, showing him the tokens of her appreciation for him.

_“Proof you were not forgotten. In his dying days, father told our uncles that he hoped that you’d know the truth so you’d never feel lost nor be tricked by charlatan good-doers.”_

That hurt. The letter she read was genuine. It bore their father’s seal. Additionally, attached to it was the head of their family’s letter. It advised his guardians to disregard his safety if they could get something out of his person.

Catherine was looking for a monster. The last bastion of male pride who possessed their family strength. She got it.

She had waited ten years to show his guardians the letter so they could go to Koto station to Aniram Cho, his recruitment officer, to tell her the truth about him. The retired officer was the only woman in the academy who had believed in him but she was fiercely loyal to the empire. If this could benefit the emperor in pacifying the earthlings, she’d gladly sacrifice him to her overlord and master, the emperor.

So they had to go.

They had sheltered him, watched over him and when things weren’t so bad, they had actually been nice to him. Still, it was his life or theirs.

** Entitlement: **

That sense was born from his evil deed right after he told Catherine how he had disposed of them. Watching the evil glee in his eyes made him jealous. At least she had something to make her smile. Everything that did was gone. In its stead was this cold, calculating man who expected things handed to him because he had the skill and the brains to prove it.

“After that, I did not have any doubt left on my mind that you were going to be the one who carries us to victory.” The glee on her eyes always scared. Now, not so much.

 **Do nothing. Observe and wait for the right moment to get noticed.** That was how his ancestors broke through the barriers of earth feudalism to reach the pinnacle of Christian society. Giving for a price. Nothing came for free. There was no earning without sacrifice. Giving up what you held most dearly for a grander prize was what put the Medicis one step ahead of the rest.

But Piett rejected the last name of ‘Medici’. He was Firmus Piett. Nothing more and nothing less.  
If God willing he rose higher than any Imperial, he’d be content with pulling their strings without ever being the public face of the imperial military.

Celebrity was dangerous. It turned you into a walking target. It was a liability he couldn’t afford to cash in on because regardless of his superior intellect, he didn’t have friends in high places or possess supernatural abilities to get him out of a stick situation.

Catherine berated him for that _. “Popularity is for fools. Necessity will get you allies. If everyone banked on their likeability meter, the Medicis would have never been on top of the food chain … Make your officers scared. Convince them that you –and only you- will be their salvation and they will die for you.”_

** Sin: **

The water washed away her moral dilemma and malevolence but it was different for Piett. Even as a realist, he couldn’t bank on what she was suggesting.

** Obscurity: **

“The shadows suit you.” Lord Vader told him. He and Grand Moff Wilhuff Tarkin surprised him. He worked alongside Admiral Ozzel. An arrogant oaf whose position was owed to his seniority in the old republic, and his renowned bloodline.

Piett hated him. But he never let anyone see that. Least of all director of operations, Orson Krennic. The older man was a stickler for rules and although he was also frustrated by Ozzel’s arrogance, he much preferred his company over that of the emperor’s dogs, Vader and Tarkin.

This moment was something he hadn’t factored in. He turned his head around in a quick fashion. Vader saw through him and said. “There is no one here. I sent them to supervise the new AT-T model Thrawn is developing alongside Krennic.”

Piett’s knitted eyebrows amused the dark lord. Vader took off his helmet, revealing the older face of the man who once used to be known as the **_Hero Without Fear_**. “You have served the empire well for over ten years. You scored slightly above average. Your drill instructor was so impressed by your performance at the training exercises that he promoted you to squad leader three weeks ahead of the normal time period one assigns one of the enlisted that position. You passed all your exams, exceeded the expectations of your trainers, did well in combat and yet, after you were promoted to Lieutenant, no one heard from you again.”

He did not wait for Piett’s answer. Vader continued, his cold blue eyes bearing deep into Piett’s light brown ones. “It’s like you were supplanted by a look-alike who could care less about his personal ambitions. Unless you are suffering from an identity crisis or have grown a new sense of morality, I do not see you as a man who sets himself limits.”

That is where he was wrong. Piett armed himself with courage and boldly told him that. Using the same kind of icy decorum his sister used, he revealed his ambitions.

Vader smirked. “Krennic and Tarkin are constantly at each other’s throats but both are correct in seeing your potential. Stick close to fools Piett, and you will get your wish fulfilled sooner than you think.”

The dark lord put his mask on then walked away. Piett told Catherine about Vader’s surprise visit. Her face lit up, her cat-like eyes glimmering like the feline who just devoured her prey. He had made his mark, noticed by the right man. It’d only be a matter of time before Vader used him to further his ambitions. And through Vader, Piett was going to further his.

**Author's Note:**

> You know the drill, comment and send me your kudos if you want me to continue. If you don't, don't be nasty about it. This is just a one-shot so depending on the response and my mood, I will turn this into a series of one-shots or short stories.  
> Take care and wherever everyone is, stay safe.


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